Endoscopic surgery has been gaining wide acceptance as an improved cost effective technique for conducting certain surgical procedures. In endoscopic surgery, a trocar, which is a pointed piercing device, is sent into the body with a cannula placed around the trocar. After the trocar accomplishes piercing of the abdominal walls it is removed and the cannula remains in the body. Through this cannula, endoscopic procedures are possible. Often, multiple openings are produced in the body with a trocar so that an endoscopic instrument may be placed in one cannula, appropriate viewing mechanisms placed in another cannula and fiber optics for illuminating the surgical field placed in yet another cannula. Generally, these endoscopic procedures take place with insulfation. As more is learned about endoscopic procedures and more instruments developed, the type of procedures that may be performed endoscopically will increase. Presently, typical procedures are gall bladder removal, tissue repair, and various sterilization procedures.
One class of instruments used in endoscopic surgery are the fastening instruments such as staplers, clip appliers and the like. As can be appreciated, in an endoscopic procedure in that the instrument is placed down the cannula into the surgical field, the mobility and the access that instrument will have within the field is often quite limited. These type of instruments may not be able to reach desired areas because that area is behind other tissue or may be too far out of line with the head of the instrument. Often in some endoscopic procedures, it may be desirable to get to a vessel which is disposed behind an organ. While some of these problems may be overcome by appropriately placing the cannula, clearly there are limits on the mobility and the accessibility of the business head of endoscopic instruments.
The endoscopic instruments of the present invention overcome these problems in that they provide for considerably improved mobility of the business end of the instrument within the surgical site. Furthermore, the endoscopic instruments of the present invention provide greatly improved accessibility to tissue within the surgical site. Also, the endoscopic instruments of the present invention allow a surgeon to work on tissue that is disposed behind other tissue or in back of an organ.